Father Time
by ChemicallyEnhanced
Summary: Ritsu feels uncharacteristically sentimental and melancholy when he sees something that reminds him of his past. Fluff, sorta.


Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi because I'm too busy remembering.

I sort of felt this way when school ended, so I thought, "Why not?"

* * *

Ritsu wasn't a sentimental person in general; he didn't like bringing up those past bittersweet memories that always tightened his chest and gave him a headache, so he preferred to focus on the here and now. Not that he couldn't, anyways. He usually was so busy with work and work and work that he didn't have much time for anything else, let alone sit on his couch late at night reminiscing on his own past. It wasn't a time period he liked to think about.

So when he found himself staring at almost an exact copy of his younger self—not in appearance, but in behavior—confessing to an older girl on the side of the road in front of a shop, he had to stop and seriously re-evaluate his life. He didn't even mean to stare at them; he'd just had a very bad day—when has he ever not had a bad day?—and decided to take a walk to clear his head, and he just happened upon the two high school students. Cars and pedestrians walked by as he watched their little scene, the obviously younger and nervous boy fidgeting with his hands as he blurted out some kind of love confession and turned an amazing shade of crimson red. The older girl only stared at him blankly, then reached out and ruffled his hair, making him blush even more.

He had to literally force himself not to shiver as he watched her say the words, "Want to go out? I don't mind." It was exactly what he'd experienced with his own Saga-senpai ten years earlier, and the thought of the memory made Ritsu realize that time really was passing by so quickly. For a moment, he had to blink away the images of him and Saga-senpai standing in the strangers' spots instead, wondering why he was thinking about _that time_ now out of all things.

 _Probably stress from working today, that's all_ , Ritsu told himself as he hurried past them back to the subway that would take him home. He pretended not to notice when the older girl went to hold the younger boy's hand and he turned as red as Ritsu had been, ten years before.

He was quiet during dinner in Takano's apartment. Well, he usually was quiet, since they had almost nothing to talk about and he normally didn't want to be forced into the elder's place anyways. But today, he didn't have any sort of appetite, only picking at his food as he felt the weight of Takano's concerned—he thinks—gaze upon him. That small scene from earlier in the day really rattled him, for reasons he didn't want to admit. He wasn't getting _old_ , surely, because Kisa and Hatori and even Takano were older than he, and they never had any problems with their ages.

Maybe he was just feeling a bit sentimental with his past memories when he saw those students. That was probably it. He never really thought about his age until now; honestly, he still sometimes felt like he was 15 again, not the 25 year old he physically was. _25…did ten years really go by that quickly?_

"Penny for your thoughts?" Takano asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm…" was all Ritsu replied with, wondering what to answer with. "I was just thinking of time."

"Time?"

Ritsu pinked slightly when he realized that he'd spoken out loud. "Nothing. It's nothing." He stuck some rice into his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk anymore.

"What is it?"

Well, Takano would never leave him alone until he got his answer, so Ritsu just blurted, "Do you ever think about your past?"

If Ritsu looked back on this moment later in life, he would realize that this was a very stupid question, as 1) Their past was very messy and wasn't something to be poked at ever, and 2) If Takano's behavior towards Ritsu since he started working at Marukawa was any indication, he thought about the past often. But Ritsu was sort of numb and feeling sentimental and he wanted to reminisce for a moment, so he asked the question anyways.

"What kind of question is that?" Takano snorted lightly and pointed his chopsticks at Ritsu. "If you have time to reminisce like that, you—"

"—need to get back to work, yeah yeah. Never mind I asked that question, then," Ritsu sniped back, not even knowing why he even bothered with Takano about this issue.

"What were you wondering for, anyways?"

Gah, why did he keep talking? Right now Ritsu just wanted to finish eating and go to sleep and hopefully forget that this whole thing was ever brought up. It was embarrassing, now that he thought about it. Though…maybe it would help this strange, melancholic state he was in right now? "Today..." Ritsu started, picking at his food again, "I saw these two kids. High school students. It was nothing, one of them was just confessing, and—"

"—and it reminded you of us," Takano finished for him. He sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair. "Jeez, _that's_ what's got you like this? Ridiculous."

"Well, I can't help it!" Ritsu snapped, stabbing his food and pretending it was Takano. "I just thought, 'Wow, ten years have passed already. Time really flies by,' and…" He didn't know exactly what to say after this outburst, so he trailed off into an awkward silence.

"Tch. Don't tell me you're feeling _old_ , Onodera."

Ritsu bristled. "I _don't_ , I just…feel like I've suddenly missed a lot in life that I never got to experience…" He flushed when he realized what he just said.

"So you _are_ feeling old." Takano made that odd groaning sigh whenever he was exasperated with Ritsu. "News flash: you're actually only in your 20s, so you have plenty of time left to do…whatever the hell you want."

"What if I die tomorrow, though?" Ritsu couldn't help but blurt out, suddenly very paranoid. "What if I die tomorrow, and…that's it, I get no second chance at life and it's just…over? What then?"

Takano didn't speak for a bit, and Ritsu felt his panic drop into annoyance. Surely, Takano would think the whole thing was a big joke and tell him off about it. He had no idea why he decided to tell his boss such an embarrassing fear of his.

Just as Ritsu was about to try to change the subject, Takano spoke up with, "So you die. That's all there is to it. But—"He continued when Ritsu was about to interrupt, "Haven't you had a pretty nice life so far? Experienced a few things?"

"W-well…" When he thought about it, Ritsu had to concede that yes, he got to do _some_ things.

"Then that's it. And if you die tomorrow with regrets, then you haven't lived your life to its fullest."

When did Takano get so wise? Ritsu wondered. "That sounds like something a bad motivational speaker would say," Ritsu grumbled.

Takano shrugged. "So it is. It's true, anyways."

It was, actually, not that Ritsu would ever admit it. He had to admit, though, that he felt a little better. Just a little bit. Not that he would ever tell Takano that, either. "Y-yeah. Do…you have anything you regret, Takano-san?" This conversation was making him soft, he knew it.

"No, not really. I'm here with you, aren't I?"

He said that in such a nonchalant tone that Ritsu almost choked on his own saliva as he blushed furiously. His heart trembled, just a bit. How could Takano say that so casually?

"…too."

"What?"

"M-me too," Ritsu whispered nearly inaudibly under his breath, face as red as the rising sun upon Japan.

And to his great relief, Takano only smiled at him, not saying another word in this comfortable, almost domestic silence between them.

* * *

A/N: I know this fic might be a bit boring and uninteresting, but sometimes I really really feel this way, and I just wanted to write this to express what I was feeling.

-ChemicallyEnhanced


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